HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Before they had enough material to
book gigs of their own, the band that became Seminole Strut would play three or
four songs at open-mics at Huntsville nightspots including the Kaffeeklatsch
Bar.

"It kind of gave us a chance to put ourselves out there, just
to see what the response was," Seminole Strut singer/guitarist Tyson Parker
says. "It was a coming of age for us – a chance to see if we really wanted to
it. We got a really good response from the venues."

Formed in 2012, by fall 2013 Seminole Strut had released a potent eponymous debut
EP of loose, southern rock 'n' roll. The six-cuts, such as opening boogie "Abatis"
and acoustic-driven "A Fine Harvest," contain raconteur story-lines and vocals
that appear to have originated from a bluesy mouthful of mud. There are rough-hewn
guitars. Saloon piano and backyard backbeat.

There are songs set in the 1800s and lyrics based on family
stories passed down multi-generations. Other inspirations include whiskey, beer,
friends and chicks.

And it's all delivered with a feel that normally comes later than 23, the age of every musician in this Huntsville band.

On a recent afternoon, Parker was in his truck when called
for this phone interview, excerpts of which are below.

Tyson, in addition to being your the name of your band and EP, "Seminole
Strut" is the title of the record's closing track. Is there a self-titled song from
another band you're particularly fond of? Green Day, Black Sabbath, Bad Company and Motorhead are just a few of the groups that have done
that.

Not really. We never really intended for that to be our name
until after we wrote the song. All of our songs when we first started writing were
based on novel I was writing about a Native American man and a white man that
were living in Civil War times and they were friends and on a journey together.
The song "Seminole Strut" is really just about a dance that one of my best
friends does and it looks like a Native American rain dance, and once we got the track down we decided we
wanted to name the band that because of my friend and that story.

Seminole Strut's bio lists a lot of classic artists as
influences, including The Stones, Allmans and The Band, but the most audible influence
I heard on the EP was Kings of Leon. Are you a fan?

Absolutely. I love Kings of Leon. I just like the
grittiness. It's southern but it's not like "Lynyrd Skynyrd southern." It's country-family-punk-funk,
I guess. Kings of Leon is kind of where we started, but then we started adding
harmonies and stuff.

When your band first started getting together to jam, what sort of material would you play?

A couple of songs that aren't on the EP. The first songs we
learned were all original, and we still play those live. "Indian Creek," which
is about Indian Creek in Madison, "Choctaw" which is about chewing tobacco and
a song called "Gnaw Gnaw" that's a rally fast-paced, Chuck Berry get-after-it
kind of music. The first covers we learned was 'Molly's Hangover," and it's the
same as 'Molly's Chambers' one of Kings of Leon's best-known songs, but they
play it in a different key and a different speed.

How do you and Jonathan split lead vocals in the band?

I sing most of the originals and J.B. and I split the covers.

Your day job is receivers coach for the Huntsville High
School football team. You favorite receiver all-time, college or pro?